Need to run
by Eriamaude
Summary: After being unhappy with his life for months, Harry had finally decided to run away from the wizarding world. Well, that was his first though. Then he stopped to sit and plan. Written for WolfWinks, for the Monthly One-Shot Exchange - March, in HPFC
For WolfWinks

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After being unhappy with his life for months, Harry had finally decided to run away from the wizarding world. Well, that was his first though. Then he stopped to sit and plan. He was not a teenager anymore, did he really need to rush ahead?

"I must be channelling Hermione today, planning on paper… I miss her so much, and Ron too..." He said to himself, alone in his small flat.

His best friend of the last 15 years, as well as most of the Weasley family, had perished in a terrible attack eighteen months earlier. At the time of the explosion of the Burrow, Charlie had been in Romania with his dragons, while Harry and the twins were signing an investment deal concerning the expansion of the shop, under the supervision of a goblin in Gringotts.

All four of them had been devastated, and promised to be there for each other.

So after Harry decided to sit and think before acting, the first thing he did was make a floo call to Fred and Georges, to run his plan by them. He ended up with an invitation to dinner at their flat, and Apparated over there a few minutes later.

"If we understand well what you tell us..." started Fred

"You want to leave our beautiful..." continued George

"And bigoted and judgemental wizarding world" finished Fred

"Yes..." Harry paused a few seconds, collecting his thoughts before continuing. "I can't take it anymore, the press, the Ministry. I can't stand being their poster boy, being under the scrutiny of everyone! I.. I just want to be myself!"

Realizing his hands were clenched and his knuckles white and that he had risen up from his seat, he felt the heat on his cheeks, closed his eyes and drank half of his Butterbeer before sitting back on his chair at the kitchen table.

"Care to explain the being myself part, Harrykins ?" said Georges, smiling.

Harry took a few moments before answering to finish his bottle first.

"Look at my life! Years after the war, they still see me as the Boy-who-lived. I am not a little boy anymore, and most of the press and the public still see me as theirs. I can't put one toe out of line, out of their line... I get marriage proposals by owl every week. EVERY BLOODY WEEK! And it has been worse over the last six months... Apparently, Witch Weekly said that I should be done mourning my friends and family and that I was once again the most eligible bachelor in Britain..."

"Yeah...We remember that."

"We kept an issue to tease you..."

"Who are they to decide I should be done grieving and back on the market? I don't want to marry a witch and be the good husband working at the Ministry, I just want to be with the few persons that really care and disappear from this island. I want, I NEED to fly on my own, take risks, make mistakes, have fun, be myself, be just Harry. If I need to, I'll be just Harry the human, away from the wizarding world." His voice had risen during that last part, and he was getting short of breath. At the same time, finally managing to put words on his feelings, he felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders.

"Harry", George started, "we might have a solution for you..."

"If you agree to trust us, which you will, once you hear our proposition" finished Fred, letting his twin continue the talking.

"What if you went to visit Charlie for a while? The reserve is in a secluded part of Romania, and you could learn and do new things. They are not Potter-obsessed over there, and you still have access to the conveniences of wizardry."

"Well, that seems interesting", Harry started, with the beginning of a small on his lips. "You are sure it wouldn't bother Charlie? I wouldn't want to impose..."

"He misses you a lot, you know, and not only for the Quidditch talk." George winked to his twin. "He really cares about you"

"Really?" Harry replied, suddenly feeling hopeful.

"Really." Both red-heads replied in unison.

"Well, I'll go get packing then, and gets a few things in order before leaving. I can trust you with some important papers? I'll give them to you when I come back tomorrow morning." And then he left in a hurry, not even waiting for their answer to his question, and forgetting he was there for dinner.

The future now felt brighter for Harry Potter. The need to escape and run was still present, but now he knew where to run, and who to run to. And the idea of running to Charlie left him feeling very warm and smiling, as if he had found something, someone maybe?

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Written for WolfWinks, for the **Monthly One-Shot Exchange - March, on HPFC.**

While this is actually a one shot, I might feel the need to eventually add a chapter or two. Muses can't be controled...


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